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Mike Chan

Hong Kong’s Vera Lui Lai-yiu believes she has nothing left to prove and is under no pressure heading into the National Games in November.
The 30-year-old 100m hurdler will be competing in the multi-sport contest for the fourth time in what is undeniably the twilight of her career.
And despite and struggling at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Lui told the Post she felt nothing but excitement for what lay ahead.
“There’s nothing to prove personally, or to anyone,” said Lui, who last reached the podium at a category A event at the Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran in February last year. “It would be OK if I could achieve my personal best time [of 13.15 seconds].
“There is no extra pressure about clocking my best time again, or anything else either, because I run the best I can in every race.”

From her debut in Shenyang in 2013, to Tianjin four years later, and at the most recent edition in Shaanxi in 2021, veteran Lui has often flirted with reaching the final and missed out by just one place four years ago.
And while her best finish was seventh in 2017, Lui said there was not much “I need to worry about” ahead of the athletics competition, which will be held at Guangdong Olympic Stadium.
“You don’t have to arrive three hours in advance to secure your hurdles [for pre-race training], and still not know if the volunteers will take them away from you,” the 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist said. “To be honest, I am excited and looking forward to the National Games.”
What she would like to do is arrive at her race injury-free, after being hampered by a sore right shoulder since February.
“I just strained my shoulder during training,” Lui said. “I still feel the pain, and I have never experienced any upper body injury throughout my career. So, I am still learning, and I was quite frustrated back then after a decent start to my indoor season.
“Injuries are unavoidable, but I never revealed that on social media because I don’t want to magnify my injury infinitely.”
Lui said she did “the best I could” in her World Championships debut, which ended in the heats after she clocked a time of 13.43 seconds in Japan last month.
“I underperformed at the Asian Championships [finishing eighth], I didn’t do well enough,” the 30-year-old said. “My last season was better, but all I can say is that it was a really good season, injury-free.
“This season was still all right, but there was room for improvement. I want to do better, I feel I can do even better.
“The plan for me this season was always from last December to this December, after the National Games, so there’s still time [to improve].”
There are goals though, with a podium finish the least she is demanding of herself, although she faces significant challenges from the likes of Wu Yanni, Lin Yuwei and Xia Sining – all of whom have posted faster times in their careers.
With no other scheduled races until the National Games, Lui is expected to train at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, with her coach, Irishman John Coghlan, potentially flying in for a short stint in the Far East.
This year’s event, which is being co-hosted by multiple cities – Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau – for the first time in the Games’ history, will run from November 9 to 21.


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2025 National Games

Hong Kong hurdler Lui says she has nothing to prove at National Games, will race without pressure

Vera Lui made her World Athletics Championships debut in Tokyo in September. Photo: Handout

Hurdler Vera Lui will be competing in her fourth National Games. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

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Hong Kong’s Vera Lui will be competing in the multi-sport Games for the fourth time, but has never come close to the podium


Hong Kong’s Vera Lui will be competing in the multi-sport Games for the fourth time, but has never come close to the podium.


Wu Yanni

Vera Lui Lai-yiu

Hong Kong hurdler Lui says she has nothing to prove at National Games, will race without pressure

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong’s Vera Lui will be competing in the multi-sport Games for the fourth time, but has never come close to the podium

Hong Kong’s Vera Lui will be competing in the multi-sport Games for the fourth time, but has never come close to the podium